Mekong River
Mekong River 湄公河 (Méigōng Hé) / 澜沧江 (Láncāng Jiāng) မဲခေါင်မြစ် (Megaung Myit) ແມ່ນ້ຳຂອງ (Maenam Khong) แม่น้ำโขง (Maenam Khong) ទន្លេមេគង្គ (Tônlé Mékôngk) Sông Mê Kông / Sông Cửu Long (九龍) | |
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![]() Mekong River, Luang Prabang, Laos | |
![]() Mekong River watershed | |
Location | |
Country | China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Lasaigongma (拉赛贡玛) Spring |
- location | Mt. Guozongmucha (果宗木查), Zadoi, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China |
- coordinates | 33°42.5′N 94°41.7′E / 33.7083°N 94.6950°E |
- elevation | 5,224 m (17,139 ft) |
Mouth | Mekong Delta |
- location | Vietnam |
- coordinates | 10°11′20″N 106°44′56″E / 10.189°N 106.749°ECoordinates: 10°11′20″N 106°44′56″E / 10.189°N 106.749°E, 10°15′41″N 106°45′11″E / 10.261291334222218°N 106.75297696603432°E |
- elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Length | 4,350 km (2,700 mi) |
Basin size | 795,000 km2 (307,000 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
- location | Mekong Delta, South China Sea |
- average | 16,000 m3/s (570,000 cu ft/s) |
- minimum | 1,400 m3/s (49,000 cu ft/s) |
- maximum | 39,000 m3/s (1,400,000 cu ft/s) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
- left | Srepok, Nam Khan, Tha, Nam Ou |
- right | Mun, Tonlé Sap, Kok, Ruak |
The Mekong River is a river in the south-east of Asia. It flows through many countries: China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and finally Vietnam. The Mekong begins in the Lasagongma Spring which is in the plateaus of Tibet, disputed part of China, and flows about 2,703 miles (4,350 km) south-east to the South China Sea. Its watershed covers 307,000 square miles (797,000 square kilometers).[1] Its name comes from the Thai language's Mae Num, or literally, "Mother Water".
The Mekong is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world, with hundreds of types of fish, as well as river dolphins, crocodiles, and otters. Fishing is a very important activity on the river.[2] However, the Mekong River is also used extensively for navigation.
Dams[change | change source]
The river has dams:
Dams that are being built in China, are:
Dams that are being built in Laos, are:
Dams that are planned (as of 2017), include:
- Pak Beng Dam (planned finished in 2022)
- Latsua (planned finished in 2023)
- Sanakham (planned finished in 2024)
Related pages[change | change source]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "Source of the Mekong River (Langcang Jiang)". Archived from the original on 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ↑ "BIodiversity and Fisheries in the Lower Mekong Basin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ↑ "Murder on the Mekong: Death by a Thousand Dams". Archived from the original on 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
Other websites[change | change source]
Media related to Mekong at Wikimedia Commons
Government, corporate, environment and technical[change | change source]
- Mekong River Commission
- Thailand National Mekong Committee Archived 2009-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
- Vietnam National Mekong Committee
- Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Peace Palace Library
Travel, culture and history[change | change source]
- NYTimes: The Mysterious Mekong Starts to Reveal Itself
- First raft and kayak descents of the Mekong in China, 1994 - 2004 Archived 2009-04-12 at the Wayback Machine